Punjab FC –3 (Majcen 46’48’, Asmir 70’)
Chennaiyin FC – 2 (Jordan 30’ 90+9)
New Delhi, October 31: A second half brace on his return by Luka Majcen and a strike from Asmir Suljic ensured Punjab FC dismantle Chennaiyin FC 3-2 in an Indian Super League encounter which was played here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Punjab scored thrice in the second half after going behind to a first half strike from Wilmar Jordan, who also went on to score his second goal with the last kick of the match. With this win, The Shers jumped to third place in the standings with 12 points from five matches with a game in hand over Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan while Chennaiyin remained in sixth position with eight points from six matches.
Luka Majcen made his return to the starting lineup after an injury spell with Leon Augustine making way for the Slovenian as Head Coach Panagiotis Dilmperis did not experiment much with his starting eleven that has started the season well. Meanwhile Owen Coyle named an attack heavy lineup with former Punjab FC forward Wilmar Jordan Gil leading the forward line along with Connor Shields, Lukas Brambilla and Farukh Choudhary.
Both sides struggled to create a foothold on the game as the match was restricted to the center of the pitch. There was no shots on target in the first 25 minutes from either teams, underlining the nature of the game. The hosts did show some intent with the wing backs Lhungdim and Abhishek running down the wings, but the Chennaiyin defence stood strong, blocking efforts on goal.
Chennaiyin took the lead in the 30th minute and it had to be the former Sher, Wilmar Jordan who found the net. Lukas Brambilla brilliantly found the Colombian in space and the striker finished with his left foot past the on rushing Ravi Kumar. Luka Majcen missed an opportunity to equalise in added time of the first half, but his left footed shot hit the side netting.
Punjab FC came into the second half with all guns blazing surprising the Chennaiyin side. Luka Majcen scored twice in the space of three minutes to stun the Chennaiyin defence. Filip Mrzljak received a pass from Nikhil Prabhu in the middle of the pitch and the Croatian ran through the defence and played a defence splitting pass to find Luka which the striker accepted and slotted the ball past the on rushing Samik Mitra.
Luka then gave the Shers the lead after one minute from a well worked team goal. Filip and Lhundgim combined well in the edge of the box and the full back continued his run into the box and in a split second whipped in a low cross to an unmarked Luka, who diverted the ball into the net for his third goal of the season.
Punjab opened up Chennaiyin’s defence once again and punished them again in the 70th minute. Pulga Vidal looped a ball into the path of substitute Bakenga who played a low cross into the path of the other substitute Asmir Suljic. The Hungarian made no mistake and finished with ease, for his first goal of the season and the team’s third of the night.
The Shers remained solid in defence, maintaining the two goal advantage but conceded in the last kick of the match. Wilmar Jordan pounced on a loose ball inside the box and finished expertly but it could only be a consolation goal as Punjab FC continued their strong start to the season.
Punjab FC will face FC Goa in their next fixture on November 6th at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa.
